Eagles take QB Kolb with first pick, in second round

After trading away their first-round selection in the NFL Draft today, the Eagles took lightly regarded University of Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb with their first pick of the second round, No. 36 overall.

The Eagles selected Notre Dame defensive end Victor Abiamiri with their second pick in the second round, 57th overall, and Stewart Bradley, a linebacker from Nebaraska. with their first third-round pick, the 87th selection overall.

The Eagles likely calmed some of their fans' furor when they picked Penn State running back Tony Hunt with their second pick of the third round, 90th overall.

The selection of Kolb, generally rated no better than fourth to sixth among quarterbacks in this year's draft by the so-called experts, had television analysts shaking their heads.

"It was a shock," Kolb said in a conference call with reporters. "I had no idea I'd be drafted this early."

Two other quarterbacks quickly were selected after the Eagles' stunning move. BYU's John Beck went to Miami with the 40th overall pick and Michigan State's  Drew Stanton went to Detroit at No. 43.

Kolb threw 30 touchdown passes, 3,809 yards and had just 4 interceptions as a senior for Houston, which plays in Conference USA. Kolb (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) threw for 12,578 yards and 92 touchdowns during his career at Houston, where he was a four-year starter.

The Eagles already have three veteran quarterbacks on their roster: five-time Pro Bowl selection Donovan McNabb, A.J. Feeley and Kelly Holcomb. Holcomb was involved in the off-season trade with Buffalo that also sent linebacker Takeo Spikes to Philadelphia.

"I've heard a lot of good things about Donovan," Kolb said. "That's their franchise guy. It'll be a real good situation. I don't know how it'll turn out."

McNabb is recovering from season-ending knee surgery and has been injured three of the last four years, but no one expected the Eagles to draft a quarterback so high, and few Eagles fans had even heard of Kolb in a year considered relatively weak for quarterbacks.

"This has nothing to do with Donovan McNabb, let me make that clear," Eagles coach Andy Reid said during an interview on ESPN. "This was about getting the best player available."

Eagles fans at Radio City Music Hall first gasped, then booed loudly when the selection of Kolb was announced.

"The last quarterback the fans booed was a guy named Donovan McNabb," Reid said. "And he turned out all right."

LSU's JaMarcus Russell was the No. 1 overall pick by Oakland, but there wasn't another quarterback drafted until Notre Dame's Brady Quinn slipped to No. 22 and Cleveland. Kolb was the third quarterback selected.

The Eagles traded their top choice in the draft to the rival Dallas Cowboys in exchange for picks in the second, third and fifth rounds.

The Eagles saw some players that many thought were high on their draft board get taken before their spot at No. 26 in the first round, including University of Miami safety Brandon Meriweather -- taken at No. 24 by the New England Patriots.

Hurricanes tight end Greg Olsen still was available when the Eagles dealt their top pick to the Cowboys. Olsen was generally rated as the top tight end in the draft and Eagles tight end L.J. Smith is entering the final year of his contract.

Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny also remained available. Posluszny would have been a popular pick among the local fan base, but the Eagles opted to accumulate more picks in later rounds. Philadelphia got the 36th, 87th and 158th selections in this year's draft.

The pick at No. 36 was the one they used to draft Kolb. Dallas used the pick acquired from the Eagles to draft Purdue defensive end Anthony Spencer.

The Eagles were hoping to land a safety who would eventually succeed perennially Pro Bowler Brian Dawkins. But Texas' Michael Griffin, Florida's Reggie Nelson and Meriweather went between the 19th and 24th picks.

Hunt (6-2, 230) started his final 29 games at Penn State and ranks second all-time on the Nittany Lions' rushing list with 3,320 yards. His 88 career pass receptions are the most by a running back in school history.

Hunt rushed for 1,386 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior. He also had three touchdown catches.

Abiamiri (6-4, 270) started 25 straight games and played in 48 career games at Notre Dame. He finished his college career with 126 tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 21.5 sacks. He had 10.5 sacks as a senior.

Abiamiri won Notre Dame's 2006 Eugene D. Fanning Award at Notre Dame, based on his achievements in the classroom and  success as a student.

Bradley (6-4, 250) had a strong senior season for Nebraska after tearing an ACL in 2005. He led the Cornhuskers in tackles as a senior with 76. Bradley switched from defensive end to linebacker after his freshman year. The 87th pick was one the Birds acquired from Dalllas for trading out of the first round.

The last time the Eagles didn't make a pick in the first round was 1992, when they selected running back Siran Stacy in the second round.